The Uncanny Valley is a term referring to the hypothetical state in which a robot, avatar, or other non-human humanoid facsimile is at first received in an increasingly positive and empathic way from interacting humans. However, as it becomes even more realistic, it hits a 'valley', a point where positive response tails of dramatically, and responses of unease, revulsion, and even fright are exhibited instead.

Moreover, when it pushes past this point, and becomes as realistic as a natural face, these negative emotions rapidly vanish and become positive and emotive once again. The strange dip at near realistic, is called the uncanny valley.

Below, we offer a selection of links from our resource databases
which may match this term.

The Uncanny ValleyThe Uncanny Valley was introduced by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970, as a term referring to the hypothetical valley in which human-like fascimiles suddenly go from 'cute' to 'vile' with almost no warning.

The Uncanny Valley was introduced by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970, as a term referring to the hypothetical valley in which human-like fascimiles suddenly go from 'cute' to 'vile' with almost no warning.

Large Image Display: The Uncanny ValleyOur look into the original works of Japanese researcher Masahiro Mori and his American counterpart Karl MacDorman, in the mapping out of what we now term the Uncanny Valley, and the nuances within it. Giving hope to the prospect of finally being able to crack the valley and escape it for good.

The depths of the uncanny valley: Dealing with uncanniness
One part of a three-part series on overcoming the Uncanny Valley from a game developer?s perspective; written in 2006. This final part discusses the efforts of others to overcome the valley, and the side effects it has had on the development process.

Bypassing the Uncanny Valley with HandsIn August 2008, the first hand and forearm pairing was achieved which realistically bypasses the uncanny valley for the lower arm, and allows completely realistic movement of the wrist and hand.

Large Image Display: Bicentennial Man: Aging AndroidThe concept of aging, or the appearance thereof, is a good one. It is an aspect of circumnavigating the uncanny valley that should never be forgotten: No matter how perfectly a human face, behaviour, mannerisms are recreated, unless the face, the body seems to change with time, the uncanny valley has not really been conquered.

The Uncanny Valley: Effect of Realism on the Impression of Artificial Human Faces
A MIT Presence magazine free feature. Roboticists believe that people will have an unpleasant impression of a humanoid robot that has an almost, but not perfectly, realistic human appearance. This is called the uncanny valley, and is not limited to robots, but is also applicable to any type of human-like object, such as dolls, masks, facial caricatures, avatars in virtual reality, and characters in computer graphics movies.

Our uncanny ability to spot a fake
A BBC article on the difficulty of maintaining the metaphor inside virtual space, and the issues with uncanny valley that make CGI realism so elusive.

(24/01/2010)An oft-cited theory in robotics, the uncanny valley, refers to that point along the chart of robot?human likeness where a robot looks and acts nearly?but not exactly?like a human. This subtle imperfection, the theory states, causes people'...

(06/11/2009)Human suspicion of realistic robots and avatars may have earlier origins than previously thought. Experiments with macaque monkeys show they too are suspicious of replicas that fall short of the real thing. The research suggests a deep-seat...

(04/05/2009)Some fans believe James Cameron and colleagues may have finally crossed the "uncanny valley" (reality credibility barrier) with their 3-D science-fiction thriller "Avatar" movie, due out in December.